ASPIRE: An SFS Program for Interdisciplinary Research and Education (Renewal)

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There is a growing national recognition of the importance of diversifying the workforce, both to fill the huge demand for qualified employees in computer science related professions, including cybersecurity, and to promote diversity of thought and experience, to support improved problem-solving. This project aims to build on and extend the success of the current CyberCorps(R) Scholarship for Service (SFS) program at New York University, including implementing several creative modifications and enhancements to the SFS program to increase gender diversity in NYU's cybersecurity program. Additional aspects of the program will include mentorship programs and campus visits by alums to advice and help place students in the executive branch of the federal government; placing a stronger emphasis on research projects by the SFS students, and deeply technical as well as interdisciplinary learning experiences depending on the student's preparation and aspiration. These efforts will sharpen the student's ability for creative thinking, making them better cybersecurity professionals. Using knowledge and skills obtained in the program, the graduates will be well prepared to meet challenges of protecting the information and infrastructure resources of our nation.This renewal project will leverage and improve the resources and infrastructure generated by the current SFS program. The program will be run by NYU's Cyber Security Center (CCS) which brings together complementary expertise, faculty innovation, and student enthusiasm from different schools at NYU to enhance the state of knowledge and practical application of security and privacy. This center includes faculty from Tandon (Engineering), Law, Steinhardt (Ethics, Philosophy, Education), Wagner (Public Policy), Stern (Business and Economics) and NYU Abu Dhabi (Engineering). The best qualified SFS students will be admitted from across all the schools. The project will support an educational program that relies on a number of high-quality courses in cybersecurity, participation in research projects supervised by faculty, hands-on experience both at NYU and during summer internships at the government, semester for-credit internships in New York City, participation in curricular activities including competitions and badges with industry partners of the broader cybersecurity center, and outreach activities through CSAW, the largest student run security event in the world.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.